Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Detect 34 Illegal Acts Involving Festive Foods for Lunar New Year

Gyeonggi Province has uncovered 34 violations through a crackdown on illegal activities related to festive foods for Lunar New Year.

The Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Corps announced on March 5 that it investigated illegal acts involving festive foods during the Lunar New Year holiday, detecting a total of 34 violations, including breaches of business compliance requirements and illegal expansion of business premises.

From February 2 to February 13, Gyeonggi Province conducted an intensive investigation targeting approximately 360 food manufacturing and processing businesses and other food sales establishments handling rice cakes, dumplings, tofu, hangwa (traditional Korean sweets), edible oils, and livestock products.

The violations uncovered included: 11 cases of non-compliance with business requirements; 7 cases of unreported changes to business premises area; 6 cases of failure to fulfill mandatory self-quality inspections; 6 cases of labeling violations; 3 cases of breaches of standards and specifications; and 1 case of unlicensed operations.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

According to the current Food Sanitation Act, manufacturing, processing, cooking, selling, subdividing, transporting, displaying, or storing products, foods, or their raw materials past their expiration date for the purpose of sale, or selling such items, is punishable by up to three years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won. The same penalties apply to cases where business premises are illegally expanded and used without notifying the competent authorities. Edible oils (such as sesame oil, which must be tested once every month, and perilla oil, once every two months) require self-quality inspections by food type, and violations are also subject to up to three years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won.

The Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods stipulates that violations of food labeling requirements are punishable by up to three years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Kwon Moonjoo, head of the provincial Special Judicial Police Corps, stated, "We will do our utmost to proactively block the distribution and sale of hazardous foods to ensure a safe food environment for residents," adding, "We are providing guidance on legal compliance to prevent violations due to business owners’ lack of awareness, carelessness, or minor mistakes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.